


save that in your memory palace

by ohnice1



Category: Happiest Season (2020)
Genre: Abby POV, F/F, POV Third Person, Post-Canon Fix-It, Romantic Comedy, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28799919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohnice1/pseuds/ohnice1
Summary: If you’d asked Abby in January whether she thought she would ever be at the Caldwell family Christmas again, she would have laughed until she passed out. Nonetheless, for the second year in a row, that’s where she finds herself arriving on Christmas Eve to spend another holiday break, albeit under very different circumstances.Or: Abby goes home with Harper for Christmas again, but this time as a friend. Knowing that Riley will also be there is just a...perk.
Relationships: Abby Holland/Riley Johnson
Comments: 37
Kudos: 151





	save that in your memory palace

**Author's Note:**

> Short one-shots? I don't know her.
> 
> Apparently, sofialindsay and I have decided that we're going to force-feed this fandom even if no one else will. I hope the five of you left here enjoy this 😂
> 
> Thanks to my beta as always!

If you’d asked Abby in January whether she thought she would ever be at the Caldwell family Christmas again, she would have laughed until she passed out. Nonetheless, for the second year in a row, that’s where she finds herself arriving on Christmas Eve to spend another holiday break, albeit under very different circumstances.

Her relationship with Harper hadn’t survived the abnormally grey and cold January that came on Christmas’s heels. Still, they’d taken the very stereotypical approach of remaining friends. Such good friends, in fact, that by the time they’d overcome the shared immediate-post-breakup awkwardness, they’d taken to playing wingman for one another. If pressed, Abby might even call Harper her best friend, which she is fully aware is absolutely terrible for future romantic prospects.

It had been a weird year, okay?

In addition to the ending of a relationship that she was previously certain was _the one_ , Abby had also finished her doctorate and moved to Philadelphia at the end of the summer. While it pained her to move away from Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon, she knew the best way to get on the tenure track there was to build her CV elsewhere and return - what better time than when she wasn’t tied down?

Which was...another topic.

While Harper had moved on (twice, but who was counting?), Abby had, well...not. It’s not that she hadn’t had the chance (Harper was a freakishly good wingman), but to say she had zero interest would be an understatement. She tells herself it’s because she’s focusing on herself and her career.

But really, it’s because of the other weird part of this year: befriending her ex-girlfriend’s ex-girlfriend. And more than slightly catching feelings for said...ex-ex.

Abby hadn’t exactly _planned_ on it happening, of course. Still, upon reflection, it did feel like a natural progression from the instant connection they shared at Christmas the previous year. Riley had gone from someone who occasionally sent her memes and political tweets, to someone she spontaneously spent twelve hours texting with non-stop after the other woman sent her a particularly funny art history joke (which Abby was impressed Riley even found, let alone appreciated), to someone it felt like she never really _stopped_ talking to unless required from that point on. After a drink or two, she might admit to someone other than herself that she didn’t really stop thinking about her, either.

That _definitely_ had nothing to do with her agreeing to Harper’s offer to spend another Christmas together.

This was absolutely beside the point most of the time because it didn’t seem to be the same for Riley aside from a few drunken exchanges. Or, at least, it felt beside the point until they _literally_ ran into each other on Main Street just six hours before they were expecting to see each other at the White Elephant party.

“Riley!” Abby squawks (god, that really was a squawk, wasn’t it?).

Riley looks equally surprised. “Abby! Uh...fancy meeting you here.”

Abby watches her cringe and feels a tinge of relief. “Well, in my defense, you did know I was here.”

“Right, but, like, not _here_ here,” she defends. “Hi, Jane. You look amazing. I _love_ the dress,” she compliments, directing her attention away from Abby briefly.

Jane beams. “Riley! Thank you so much!” she squeals, pulling her into a dramatic hug. “I’m so sorry, but I really gotta go pick up this darn wine. And I have to...not break it like last year. I’ll be right back, okay, Abby?”

“Oh,” Abby mutters awkwardly. “Should I help you?”

“No, I got it!” Jane says quickly, grinning. “I’ll be back in a jiffy. See ya later, Riley!” She sets off for the wine shop without waiting for a response.

“God, I love her,” Riley mutters.

“Right? She’s probably, like, Caldwell number two,” Abby agrees.

Riley smirks. “Well, I think you know I’d contend she’s number one.”

“Fair,” Abby laughs. “God, I can’t believe you’re actually...here.”

“It’s me. I’m real,” Riley confirms, doing a weird thing with her hands that Abby guesses is supposed to look like what magicians do.

Abby pokes her in the shoulder. “Are you sure?”

“Well, I think if you’re fantasizing about bumping into me on Main Street, that’s probably part of a bigger issue.”

Abby gulps. “Fantasizing, huh?”

Riley grins. “Fantasizing, hallucinating, imagining. Whatever you wanna call it, it might be concerning. Unless it’s some other kind of fantasy, of course.”

Abby knows why her stomach drops at that moment, but she pushes it back. Because Jane would be back soon, of course. “I can confirm that I’m not prone to hallucinations.”

“Thank God. Psychiatry really isn’t my specialty.”

“Well, I’ll let you know if my contact stupiditis flares up again.”

Riley smiles in a way that makes her eyes scrunch up, and it’s fucking _adorable_ , but it doesn’t last because she shifts her gaze to the ground (which Abby swears is the first time she’s ever seen Riley act _shy_ ). “I can’t believe you still remember that.”

“I remember pretty much everything.”

Riley lifts her head back up in time for Abby to notice a single eyebrow shoot up questioningly. “Really? Everything?”

Abby swallows thickly, something in Riley’s tone conveying that she’s forgotten something important, which makes her nervous. “I...think so?” She pushes her hair out of her face a few times distractedly.

Riley leans in a little. “If you say so.”

Abby shoves her hands in her pockets, rocking back and forth from the heels to the balls of her feet a few times. “Yeah,” she tries to say confidently. Before she can finish, Jane is already back.

“Okay, I got it!” she announces triumphantly, the large box braced in her arms. “Now let’s get goin’ before these guns give out and the sidewalk gets a wine bath! Abby, could you grab the keys out of my pocket? See ya later, Riley! Can’t wait for White Elephant!”

Riley chuckles. “Bye, Jane. See you later, Abby.”

“Right. See you...later. At the party. Where we’ll both be.” Abby decides she hates herself.

Riley laughs again before doing the shy gaze-at-the-ground thing again. “That’s the plan.”

“Abby! Help!” Jane cries out.

“I better…” Abby trails off, pointing a thumb back over her shoulder.

Riley nods, grinning. “You do that.”

Abby shifts abruptly, pulling Riley into a quick, awkward hug. “Felt weird not to do that. Uh...bye.”

* * *

Abby notices that the afternoon leading up to the party feels like night and day compared to the previous year. Maybe it helps to not be told you’re suffocating someone.

“Hey!” Harper greets her cheerfully, rounding the corner just as Abby comes up from the basement. “You look great. Was it okay with Jane this afternoon?”

“Oh, yeah, totally! She’s super nice.”

Harper looks relieved. “She didn’t hug you fifty times, did she?”

Abby chuckles. “Just the once. I think she almost squeezed the life out of Riley, though.” Why did she say that?!

A weird grin makes its way onto Harper’s face, and Abby kicks herself internally. “When did you see Riley?”

“Oh. Like, on Main Street. In town. With Jane.”

Harper laughs. It’s light and airy and the exact kind of laugh she uses when she’s tickled pink by something. “That was one of the most awkward things I’ve heard you say in a while. That’s saying something for you.”

“Shut up,” Abby grumbles.

“Fine. But I’ve filed this away in my memory palace,” she jokes just as Tipper calls her name from another room. “I gotta go help plate the cookies. Are you gonna be okay here?”

Abby rolls her eyes. “Where was this hospitality last year when I was actually not okay here?” she jokes (she’s thankful when Harper laughs good-naturedly).

“Yeah, yeah. See you in a bit.” She scurries off to the kitchen.

The doorbell rings and, with no one else around, Abby takes it upon herself to answer it since it was still too early for guests to be arriving; she didn’t know what sort of delivery Tipper might be anxiously awaiting. “John?!” she shrieks when she flings the door open.

“Abby?!” he shrieks back.

“What the hell, dude? Did you track me again?”

John’s face falls. “No, sadly. Hence my surprise.”

Abby furrows her brow. “What are you doing here?”

He scrunches up his face, looking affronted. “What am _I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here, the very ‘here,’” he says with air quotes, “that I had to rescue you from last year?”

Abby rolls her eyes. “I asked you first.”

He huffs indignantly. “Jane invited me. What’s your excuse?”

She crosses her arms. “Harper invited me.”

John smiles fakely. “Is that supposed to be _better_?”

“Shut up.” She pulls him into a hug. “I’m happy you’re here, whatever the reason,” she admits into his shoulder.

He rubs her upper back. “Me too.”

“John! Hey!” Jane’s enthusiastic voice beams through the foyer. “I’m so glad you made it!”

John separates himself from Abby and steps into Jane’s open arms. “Thank you so much for the invitation! You didn’t tell me Abby would be here,” he finishes smugly.

“Oh. Well, I figured Abby would tell you,” she replies with a shrug.

“Seems logical,” he comments sarcastically, shooting Abby a look.

“Yeah, yeah,” Abby mumbles. “Jane, do you need help with anything?”

Jane looks surprised. “Oh. People don’t usually ask to help me,” she responds thoughtfully. “Nope, I don’t think so! You two just relax and get ready for the par-tay!” she continues, as chipper as usual, before setting off for the kitchen.

John looks back at Abby again, smug as hell. “So. Harper invited you, huh?”

Abby rolls her eyes. “You already knew we were friends.”

“I did, and I’m not going to reiterate how utterly bizarre that is to me. What’s that phrase? ‘If two exes remain friends, either they’re still in love, or they never were?’ Something like that.”

The subsequent eye-roll threatens to give Abby a headache. “I hate you, you know that?”

John smirks. “You love me.”

* * *

Abby and John keep themselves busy, carrying plates of this and boxes of that around the house at the Caldwell women’s instruction for the next hour until guests begin to arrive. Shortly after seven, Abby’s already perched at the “bar,” nursing a glass of “spiced alcohol” with John at her side. They’re observing guests as they arrive and making up bios for all of them.

As Connor arrives, John excuses himself, leaving Abby alone.

“We meet again,” Abby hears from her right.

“Riley!” she exclaims in surprise. “How the hell did you get there? I didn’t see you come in.”

Riley laughs. “We’ve been here a while. You definitely weren’t standing here when we walked in. Hi to you, too, by the way.”

Abby takes a sip of her drink that’s more slurpy than intended. “Hi.”

Riley nods in the general direction of the glass. “Guess I’d better get myself one of those, too, if I’m gonna survive this party.” She turns around to the bartender immediately. 

Abby doesn’t respond, instead resisting looking to her right where Riley’s practically hanging over the bar, butt in the air and form-fitting dress not leaving much to the imagination. She forces herself to watch Sloane, Harper, and Jane scuttle around the living room.

“So, what did you get for White Elephant?” Riley asks casually, looking into her glass if she’s examining it.

Abby side-eyes her. “You know I can’t tell you.”

“Dammit,” Riley mutters. “It’s only your second year. You’re supposed to be naïve enough to tell me.”

Abby laughs softly. “Sorry.”

“I’ll live,” Riley comments bitterly. “Cheers,” she says further, holding up her glass.

Abby clinks her glass against Riley’s. “Cheers. I can’t believe we’re both...here.”

Riley laughs ruefully. “Well, I’m here every year. Not sure what your excuse is.”

“Haha,” Abby retorts sarcastically. “What else was I supposed to do? Besides,” she says, taking a deep breath, “at least you’re here. Who’s in Philadelphia?”

Abby has to bite her lip to suppress her instinctual reaction to Riley’s shy gaze away. 

Riley doesn’t have time to respond and Abby hasn’t managed to regain her composure before Harper saunters up. “I’d say this is weird, but I just saw John, so I think this is clearly a parallel universe. Hi, Riley.”

“Harper,” Riley greets her neutrally. “Planning any Poinsettia throwing this evening?”

Harper’s eyes roll back in her head. “Funny.”

Riley laughs. “I’m kidding. I just couldn’t resist.”

Harper allows a smile. “I know. Glad you two found each other so you can entertain yourselves. I’ve gotta go...be a mayor’s daughter, whatever that entails,” she says with a shrug before setting off for the kitchen again.

They stand there quietly for a moment before Abby breaks the silence. “So.”

“So,” Riley mimics.

“How are you?” Abby asks lamely, grimacing.

Riley chuckles. “Is that really what you wanna ask? We just talked this morning.”

Abby scrunches up her nose. “No.”

“I thought so,” Riley laughs. “How about, ‘it’s good to see you’ or something like that? ‘Cause, that’s what I would say.”

Abby’s stomach lurches. “That...sounds about right,” she manages.

“Very articulate.”

Abby stares at the floor. “Sorry. I don’t know why this is so weird.”

“Maybe because we’ve talked every day for months but haven’t seen each other in person for a year?” Riley offers with a soft smile.

Abby feels a small amount of tension release its grip on her muscles. “That also sounds about right.” She takes another sip of her drink, then looks to Riley and makes eye contact. “It is really good to see you. I feel like I missed you?” she ventures, noticing her nervousness makes it come out sounding like a question unintentionally. “That wasn’t a question. It’s just weird-”

“Not weird,” Riley interjects. “I missed you too. Even though I think the...what, four hours? We spent together have been dwarfed by all the time in between.”

“That’s true,” Abby laughs. “At least we agree.”

“Cheers to that,” Riley proposes, and they clink their glasses together. “Where did John go? It would be nice to finally meet him after hearing about him all the time. He feels like a unicorn or something at this point.”

Abby chuckles. “Good question. He took off when Connor got here and said something about having to ‘right a wrong about a bench press,’ whatever that means.”

“Huh. I didn’t pick John for a weightlifter.” 

“He’s not. I think that’s the problem,” Abby laughs, noting again that as their conversation settles into a rhythm, it feels more like every other time they’ve talked and less like...well, she doesn’t know what. Something that makes her nerve endings feel like they’re plotting her death.

“Philadelphia’s not _that_ far from Baltimore, you know,” Riley changes the subject abruptly.

“I know,” Abby agrees, confused.

“You once told me you were going to, and I quote, drive to Baltimore the moment you were sober and I wasn’t performing surgical theater. Still waiting,” Riley teases.

Abby’s eyes widen and she finds herself struggling to find words. “I did?” she manages.

“You sure did.”

“Oh,” Abby comments dumbly. “Shit. That’s what you meant earlier when you were making fun of me saying I remember everything.”

“Mmmhmm,” Riley hums in agreement.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

John’s arrival stops Riley from being able to answer. “Oh my God. That man is the most cardboard-cutout heterosexual person I’ve ever met, and I’ve met Tipper Caldwell.”

“I dunno, I think Tipper could hit a solid aggro-bi vibe if you caught her at the right time in her life,” Riley deadpans, eyes finding Tipper roaming around near the front door. 

John smirks. “You must be Riley,” he notes, looking incredibly pleased. “Love the dress.”

Riley looks pleasantly surprised. “Oh, so you’ve heard of me?”

John’s eyes bulge. “Heard of you? Pretty much dail-” He’s cut off by Abby elbowing him in the ribs. “Yes, Abby’s mentioned you,” he wheezes.

“Abby’s mentioned you, too,” Riley says, looking amused. “Nice to finally meet you.”

John reaches out to shake her hand. “Likewise.” He looks back and forth between Riley and Abby in a way that is the absolute opposite of subtle. “So, ladies, who are we judging?”

Abby rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “No one at the moment. Any ideas?”

John beams. “I just saw that woman who got the painting last year. You know, the one with the Bumble husband? Don’t ask why I know that. Anyway, Bumble husband isn’t here.”

Riley looks awestruck. “No way.”

“Yes, way,” John confirms. He looks back and forth between them again. “But I’ve got to visit the little boys’ room first. If you run off and get seats for Dirty Santa, save me one.”

“White Elephant,” Abby clarifies.

John scoffs. “Whatever. Save me a seat for the WASP shitshow, Abigail.” He puts his empty glass on the bar and sets off for the bathroom.

“I love him,” Riley says under her breath.

“He has his moments.”

Riley turns her attention back to Abby. “Where were we?”

Abby gulps. Yep, she was probably going to die in this house.

Surprisingly, the hour until White Elephant passes by in somewhat of an uneventful blur as the house begins to fill up and having a focused conversation becomes impossible. Abby feels like an ornament at the bar while Riley makes small talk with her parents’ friends and other acquaintances who spot her there as they pass by. When they see Tipper begin to make the rounds with the bowl of numbers for the games, they secure theirs and make a move for seats.

“Thirty,” Riley grumbles. “What’d you get?”

“Thirty-one. Better watch your back, Bennett.” Abby wishes she knew how to wink without looking like a projectile just hit her in the eye.

“You don’t scare me, Holland.” Riley twists and grabs her freshly refilled glass off the bar. “Come on, let’s go sit down. I want a front-row seat if Harper decides to assault Sloane again.”

Abby shakes her head and grabs her own glass. “Nah. I’m expecting pure gift-brawl drama this year. Now that Harper spilled the beans, she’s gotten all...mellow. It’s weird.”

Riley starts walking towards a group of three chairs. “Harper Caldwell? Mellow?” she questions as she drops into a chair.

Abby sits down next to her, setting her glass carefully on the free chair to her other side to save it for John. “Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true. She’s changed a lot.”

Riley looks at Abby intently. “Good for her. Does that change anything for you?”

Abby furrows her brow. “What do you mean?”

Riley frowns. “With Harper. Does her changing change anything between you and her?”

Realization dawns on Abby, and her eyes bulge. “Oh God, no! No,” she rushes to clarify. “That ship has sailed, hit an iceberg, and made its way to the ocean floor, never to be seen again.”

Riley smirks. “Did you just compare your relationship to the Titanic?”

“I was trying to make a point,” Abby says with a laugh. “Did it work?”

“Don’t worry, it worked,” Riley laughs. “You and Harper are done.”

Abby relaxes. “Good. ‘Cause that part of my mind hasn’t been occupied by Harper in a _long_ time.”

“Oh?” Riley questions, intrigued. “And is it vacant?”

Abby feels her breath catch in her throat and forces it out before daring to speak. “Depends on which part of my mind you think I’m referring to.”

Riley leans in conspiratorially, close enough that her breath dances along Abby’s cheek when she talks. “The part where the person you can’t stop thinking about kissing lives. Usually right around here.” Riley briefly touches her fingertips to the back of Abby’s head.

“Oh,” Abby squeaks, “that part. That’s...uh…” she stammers, feeling an absence when Riley moves her hand away. “Well. It’s not...vacant? But Harper definitely moved out.”

John arrives with the worst timing ever, flopping into the empty chair next to Abby as he lifts up her glass. “This place is practically a museum of wardrobe disasters,” he quips as Abby takes her drink from him.

Abby huffs, earning looks from both Riley and John. “You know what,” she begins, handing her glass back to John. “I’m just gonna run to the bathroom real quick before this starts.” She stands up and sets off for the bathroom without a second glance.

She doesn’t _actually_ have to pee, but she figures it can’t hurt, considering a White Elephant game that has at least thirty-one players probably takes a while. She takes her time, the hustle and bustle letting her know that partygoers are still casually chatting and not yet organizing for the game. The spot at the back of her skull where Riley’s fingertips had lingered just moments before tingles when she thinks about it. “Get it together,” she says to herself in the mirror as she finishes washing her hands.

Abby turns the water off and grips the sides of the sink, taking a deep, steadying breath. She could do this. Riley had totally just flirted with her. Right? Right. It was obvious. Now, she just had to survive who-knows-how-long of a snooty gift exchange.

No big deal.

She stands there long enough that she’s thankful she went to the basement bathroom, which is off-limits to the rest of the guests and therefore less likely to cause a long line to build up as a result of her huffing and puffing in the mirror. So, when she flings the door open to come face to face with Riley, she obviously squeals in shock.

“Sorry,” Riley apologizes hastily. “Did you not...did you not see me get up right after you?”

“No,” Abby breathes out. “Sorry, it’s not you. I just...wasn’t expecting to see anyone since I came downstairs, so you startled me. Anyway, go ahead, I’ll wait out here.”

Riley furrows her brow. “Oh, I don’t have to go. I went right before we drew the numbers, remember?”

“Oh. Right,” Abby realizes, feeling confused. Maybe she had too many drinks. “Then we can...go,” she offers awkwardly, setting off for the stairs.

She doesn’t chance another look at Riley, who lags behind her. They reach the top of the stairs and round the corner before Riley responds. “Did I miss something?”

Abby stops and turns around. “What?”

“I mean…” Riley trails off, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “We were having that...conversation we were having before John came, then you left suddenly. I followed. And then...you ran back upstairs.”

Abby scrunches up her eyes in confusion. “Huh?”

Riley sighs, taking a few steps to stand right in front of Abby. “I made it pretty obvious that I was asking if you were interested in...Harper or someone else, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Abby answers simply.

“And you said you weren’t interested in Harper.”

“Yes,” Abby nods. “Definitely not.”

“And I asked if you were interested in anyone else, or at least I implied that question, which you said you were. Right?” Riley speaks _very_ clearly.

Abby feels realization wash over her at that moment and feels like a complete idiot. She looks around her and sees people making their way to the living room, then notices the door behind them. “Come here,” she instructs Riley, lightly grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

“Abby,” Riley begins as the door is flung open, and they step in. “Why are we in the closet?”

“You wanted to know if it was you, right? Who I was thinking about all the time?” Abby blurts out, suddenly thankful for the confidence provided by her two-and-a-half drinks.

Abby hears Riley breathe in sharply. “Yeah.”

“It is. I think about you...man. If I’m awake, I’m thinking about you. The way you laugh, the way you bite your lip when you get quiet and start thinking about something I wish I could be a mind reader for, the way you send me jokes about art that I’m not even sure how you understand without having studied it.” Abby bounces on the balls of her feet. “You...you took up that real estate in my mind, and you haven’t vacated it since.”

“Oh,” Riley says, voice shaking significantly in the single syllable. “That’s...good to know.”

“Shit,” Abby mumbles, suddenly feeling insecure as a result of the non-reaction. “You were just making conversation, weren’t you? My-”

“Abby,” Riley interrupts gently. “Relax,” she instructs, stepping even closer in the small space.

Abby exhales, dangerously close to triggering another traumatic Roomba experience as she shifts backward slightly. “Sorry,” she apologizes for the lack of a better response.

“For the record,” Riley begins, stepping even closer so that the fronts of their bodies are almost touching. “That’s exactly what I was asking, and it’s not just because I was bored or whatever you just thought.”

“Oh,” Abby sighs. “Good. That’s...well. Good. I’m...glad.”

Riley grabs Abby’s fingertips. “And for the record, you take up the same space in my head. It’s really distracting when I’m supposed to be, like, literally saving lives.”

“Cool.” Abby still hates herself.

Riley laughs softly. “Yeah. Cool. So I’m...I’m gonna kiss you now unless I’m a complete idiot and you’re thinking about me all the time for some other reason.”

“No,” Abby says hastily. “I mean, no, there’s no other reason. You...you could do that.”

Riley’s hand releases Abby’s fingertips and moves to her waist. “Thank God,” she mutters before closing the small remaining distance between them. 

Abby tries _incredibly_ hard not to be aware of the vacuum demon lurking on the floor just a short distance behind her as Riley’s lips close over hers. Fortunately, shifting her focus onto remembering to breathe as Riley’s tongue pushes her lips apart helps.

They stay like that a while, Abby separating her feet to allow Riley to push her back against the shelf without releasing the Roomba from its charger. When Riley’s hand makes its way into Abby’s hair and settles firmly over the spot her fingertips had merely grazed in the living room just minutes before, every nerve in Abby’s body feels like it’s been set aflame.

Suddenly, the small space is bathed in light. “Oh, hello,” a voice booms into the closet. “You’re not my kids.”

Abby and Riley jump apart, the sudden movement enough that one of them triggers the vacuum, which hums with electricity as it moves towards the door. 

Sloane picks it up casually before it reaches the hallway. “Do you mind?” she says to Riley pointedly.

“Sure,” Riley mumbles, moving her back against the shelving on the side of the room so that Sloane can access the charging cradle.

Sloane steps back into the hallway. “We’re starting White Elephant,” she informs them stiffly.

“Sloane? Are you talking to yourself?” Harper’s voice floats down the hall.

Sloane smirks. “Nope.”

Harper steps into sight, looking into the closet and grinning like the Cheshire cat. “I knew it!”

“Yeah...I’m gonna go. I’d prefer not to find my children hiding behind a tree amidst a brawl again later,” Sloane excuses herself, sauntering off.

Harper looks suddenly sheepish. “Not to be a twatswatter, even though this is all super weird considering the history I have with both of you, but we’re starting the game, and I think my parents and Riley’s might all have a meltdown if you’re missing.”

Riley continues awkwardly and silently leaning against the shelf, so Abby speaks up. “We’ll be right there.”

Harper offers a soft smile. “I’ll...leave you to it.” She closes the door, and her footsteps sound like they trail off to the living room.

“Well, that was something,” Riley deadpans.

“I gotta say, I imagined something way more romantic than a closet,” Abby admits.

Riley laughs nervously. “You and me both.”

“I guess we’d better...get out there,” Abby comments dejectedly. 

“Yeah,” Riley huffs. “Talk after?”

Abby laughs somewhat bitterly. “I don’t think so. We’ve talked every day for months. I think...well, I don’t know about you, but I think we could pick up where we left off, minus the whole closet part.”

Riley steps awkwardly in the darkness back into Abby’s space, pressing a short kiss to the corner of her mouth (which was probably an accident). “I can get behind that.”

“Good. Hey, question before we go.”

Riley steps back and lets her hand rest on the doorknob. “Hmm?”

“Is it weirder if _you_ stay _here_ or if I _don’t_ stay here tonight after this party?”

Abby watches Riley’s face pull into a wide grin in the dim light near the door. “Abby, if we stay here, we’re going to have some serious concerns about our volume level waking an entire house full of people. And, you know, our mutual ex being within literal feet makes me feel kind of ill.”

Abby laughs. “Fair point. But are you really that loud?”

Riley opens the door and smirks. “I was thinking about you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: @ohniceshark Tumblr: ohnice1


End file.
